


Deck the halls

by BrittaR (Taaya)



Category: Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Christmas, F/M, Mistletoe, Party, or other winter festivities
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-27
Updated: 2018-12-27
Packaged: 2019-09-28 12:51:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17183327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Taaya/pseuds/BrittaR
Summary: When decorating for a winter party, you loose your balance on the ladder and fall - right into the arms of a certain Vulcan





	Deck the halls

Living on a starship, Christmas was not exactly a huge issue for the crew. Even on earth it held no longer any religious meaning since space travel had proven wrong at least the religions themselves. It was hard to still take somebody seriously who claimed that the universe revolves around the earth, or that evolution was a myth when you have seen the universe, at least parts of it, and it didn’t give a damn about earth. If you have seen evolution actually happen in front of your eyes.

While mankind partially still believed in the existence of God or other deity, Christianity along with all the other old fashioned religions had faded into obscurity and the few traditions that survived had become secular and inclusive for each and every belief and ethnicity.

 

You weren’t religious either. You could not make up your mind if you believed in a higher being or not. If it existed, it probably was just a member of an alien species like the one taking the American natives and giving them another planet complete with protection against meteorites like it was done on Amerind. So they probably only looked like Gods and didn’t care at all if you worshipped them. They were probably even long gone and could not listen to your prayers.

 

But one thing about religions and traditions still intrigued you. You were part of the lab studying alien societies, your colleagues a mixture of historians, sociologists, political science scholars and anthropologists. And you had come across so many species on your travels with the Enterprise, but still most of them had one similarity. When their planet had something like winter, a time of relative coldness and darkness, they all had a celebration of light, warmth and love in that time. Sometimes religiously motivated, sometimes just a tradition of spending time with their loved ones.

 

If that was something so common among so many species, why should you not celebrate on the Enterprise, too. At least to lighten up the mood and with that the morale of the crew.

 

So you and your colleagues had sent in a written request to the Captain to allow you a little celebration with decorations, food and alcohol. open for all departments of the Enterprise.

 

Soon you had gotten the reply. A simple ‚granted‘, but that was all you needed. Currently in orbit around a planet with non-poisonous flora and only ruins to explore, no threat to be found, you had used your time on the surface not only to explore the culture that once inhabited the planet, but also looked for a tree you could use as decoration. A tree with ornaments and lights wasn’t too religiously specific either, you assumed. At least, even with your cultural knowledge of both earth and alien religions and traditions you could find no way how a simple tree could only symbolize the birth a supposed messiah. So nobody could say that this was excluding any other traditional heritage, right?

 

You had found a huge conifer that wasn’t exactly a fir, but smelled nice nonetheless and had twigs on which one could hang ornaments and maybe some lights if you could find any you could borrow.

 

As the botanical lab needed specimen of the fauna anyway, you asked them if you could borrow this one as decorations and they agreed, digging out the tree with all his roots and planting it in a pot, so it could still live on to be studied.

 

And now it was standing in mess hall with you in its branches. Well, not exactly, you were using a ladder. But still you leaned in heavily on the tree, trying to reach the top to set down an ornament that looked just like the command emblem of Starfleet. It was beautiful and shiny and still was inclusive enough to not be associated with any specific ethnicity or religion, other than the star you had seen as treetops when you were a kid. Everyone on this ship had a firm belief in what this symbol stood for: Exploring the galaxy, many planets side by side, working for the common good.

 

Except this ornament didn’t seem willing to cooperate with you, common good or not. It seemed to have a mind of its own and just didn’t want to stay in place. You leaned in closer, trying to use more of your strength to press it down in the branch, when you lost your balance. Suddenly the ladder was gone, fallen sideways to the ground when you had kicked it involuntarily in your fear of falling. And falling you did!

 

You closed your eyes, so you wouldn’t see the floor getting closer, when suddenly warm arms caught you.

 

„May I inquire the reason why this specimen is not in the biology lab?“, a dark voice sounded and you opened your eyes to see that Commander Spock had caught you. 

 

„The tree‘s part of our decorations, Sir“, you replied. „The Captain allowed a little celebration. You know … like Christmas, winter solstice and all those other festivities of winter. While I know that only parts of earth have winter now and only a few other planets share the same length of year and climate cycles, the majority of the crew would have their winter in their hometowns in this months. And even when the others wouldn’t celebrate it now, they still might like to join in a party with their friends.“

 

„And that is reason enough to risk your life?“, Spock asked, still holding you as if he simply forgot about it.

 

„I didn’t plan on it. It was just that the ornament wouldn’t stay on top of the tree. And … it might be irrelevant, but the tree would look so much better with the command insignia on top.“ You bit your lip. More and more you noticed how close you were to the Commander, feeling his inhuman heat even through your clothes. „But I … might just leave it off“, you added, when you realized that you had to get up there again in order to add the ornament. And maybe, just maybe, you were a little scared of getting up there again.

 

„I would be willing to help“, Spock said and you looked at him in astonishment.

 

„You? Oh, I mean no disrespect, sir. I just had never imagined that you would be willing to help with something so frivolous as a party.“

 

„My coordination is better than most human‘s, therefore it is logical to assist you rather than risk you hurting yourself or others.“

 

You had to smirk. While he had practically said that you were incompetent in what you were just doing, he did it in a way that could also be understood as worrying for your well-being. Or that of others.

 

„Sir? Thank you for saving me, catching me. But you can let me down now. If … that is alright with you, that is.“

 

Spock seemed to think about it, before letting you down. Then he picked up the ladder and climbed it with the ornament. What you could not accomplish in dozens of minutes took him mere seconds.

 

„Sir? Could I ask you to hang up the mistletoes, too?“

 

„Mistletoes?“, he asked. „How did you get any? And what for?“

 

You wondered how he could not know. But then again maybe as a Vulcan he had kept away from things like this in all his years among humans? „Well, they are not real. There were none down on the planet. But on earth there is a tradition that if you find yourself beneath the mistletoe with somebody else, you are supposed to kiss that person. It’s not obligatory, but some people like it. They only find the courage to kiss the person they are in love with, when they find them beneath it. So we crafted two mistletoes from everything we could find that was no longer of any use.“

 

„I see. In that case I will assist you again“, Spock agreed and you showed him where to put up the fake mistletoes. He moved the ladder, climbed up and soon the work was done.

 

You looked up at the excellent craftsmanship your lab mates had created and smiled. Who knew how many people would find each other tonight at the party?

 

You didn’t notice how Spock put away the ladder and came closer to you. Only when he stood next to you, looking up himself, did you notice his warmth again.

 

And then he was looking into your eyes and you into his. „As I said. Not obligatory“, you said and shrugged. „It’s just a little gimmick for lovers for tonight.“

 

„And if I were willing to follow the tradition?“, Spock asked, quietly.

 

You frowned. Did you understand correctly? „Well, then … go ahead?“

 

His lips met yours for a short moment, hesitant, but warm and soft. Then he pulled back, his eyes seemed to search for something in yours.

 

Just as shy as he kissed you, you leaned in and pressed a short kiss against his lips.

 

„May I ask permission to court you?“, Spock finally asked and again you had to smirk. His words seemed so old-fashioned, yet oddly fitting. So he really had been concerned for your life when he had put up the ornament.

 

„I think I already granted it, Commander“, you finally said. „And … you could start tonight. I heard there‘s a party tonight. One to celebrate love and friendship. And I’d love to go with you.“

 

Without hesitation Spock nodded. But instead of leaving you to your work of decorating, he joined you, helping you to turn the room into a glittering wonderland of gold and lights. 

 

When you asked him later, after you had already been married for many years, why he helped you that day, he still had this Vulcan non-smile on his lips. „Because it seemed important to you. And if you love somebody, you have to support said person, unless what this person does could do harm. You wished to celebrate a winter festival and you were clumsy enough to harm yourself. So I had to interfere. If that gave me the opportunity to announce my feelings for you as well, who was I to complain?“

 


End file.
